Thursday, June 7, 2012

Be Careful What You Wish For

Well, if anyone has been paying attention to my whining lately you might know that the weather has been a tad bit dry here in Denver.

Seriously, we'd only had about an inch of moisture since the beginning of March, the garden was bone dry and I was feeling like I should go out and do a rain dance or something. Well, last night, my prayers were answered... sorta.

I mean it did rain... oh BOY did it rain... I think we got more moisture in a few hours than we've had the rest of the year put together! Seriously, streets flooded all over town, and the rain was literally falling in sheets.


Then around midnight the tornado sirens started blaring. I herded all of the cats into the basement and tried in vane to find some meaningful information about what was going on.


I called CatMan, who turned on the TV only to find an infomercial... then I turned on the news radio and got Psychic Healers for World Peace (I kid you not.)


I finally braved it and went upstairs to turn on my own television. And of course, the wonderful channel that I watch was broadcasting live coverage of the storm... at 1am! Oh, how I LOVE Mike Nelson!


Anyhow, I'm feeling VERY lucky today because all we got was a ton of rain. This was the scene just a few miles south of me.


Yup, that's hail falling. Oh... visions of replacing the roof yet AGAIN.... Seriously, I still haven't completed repairs from last year's hail storm!

At any rate, since they're predicting more severe weather today, I decided that perhaps I should cover the garden. I mean, I dodged the bullet last night, but I really don't want to press my luck!


How about you? Anybody else got wild and wacky weather stories to tell?

20 comments :

  1. I saw a pic of the Denver area covered in hail at The Weather Channel online; so glad you are OK! We are under severe t-storm watch here in SD but so far (fingers crossed)pouring rain but no hail. I agree we need the moisture but that's a bad way to get it!

    Misty

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    1. I'm feeling quite lucky, and perhaps a tad bit overly cautious with my garden all covered - but hey, I'd rather not lose the whole garden again this year!

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    2. p.s. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you too in the hail department!

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  2. Thanks; all is well. My area didn't get hail, whew.

    Glad your garden is covered; better to be safe than sorry!

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  3. Yikes, I remember last year's hail story! CA weather tends to be fairly mild mannered. We got some rain last week, which is a little unusual for us (June - September are usually totally dry). Scrubbed the air clean, patched over the cracks in the dry earth. I'll take it. :-)

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    1. I actually love rain. It's sort of a rare treat in these parts. And I'm counting my blessings that I don't live a few blocks to the south. I saw a news report of 10 inches of hail!! They were clearing it with snow plows!

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  4. We've been having random switches between winter and summer weather this year (hot in March, cold in April, a bit of hot in May, cold/hot/cold so far for June), and today there's a lot of rain. Enough for the local agricultural show to be cancelled, which is saying something as Wales is used to rain. We're a bit worried that the stream might come over the bridge and wash the driveway away (it's happened before). There's wind too - we helped clear a large-ish tree off the road earlier. Even so, I'm guessing it's not as bad as you've got.

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    1. Well, flooding is one thing I don't worry about since I live at the top of a big hill. I always think how nice it would be if we got rain all the time... but then again, we never have to deal with slugs here!

      Call me a climate pessimist, but I sorta have the feeling that "crazy" weather is gonna become the norm in the not too distant future!

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    2. Well this morning the nearest town is pretty much cut off, "Rain in Wales" has made the national news (that's national as in UK) and I saw two lifeboats going down the road earlier. I think that counts as severe weather, even for Wales.

      Rain all the time is not just wet, it's also cold and dark. Not completely dark, obviously, but you start to long for proper bright daylight after a bit.

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    3. Holy Moly! That sounds rather frightening, in addition to gloomy and cold.

      We're now back to the sweltering heat with nary a cloud in sight. I nearly made myself sick working out in the garden yesterday because I got overheated and dehydrated - it was nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 C.) Can't mother nature spread it around a bit?

      Stay safe!

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  5. Wow that hail storm looks wild! Thankfully we havent had hail- yet. We had a bad one about 3 years ago and there were lots of damaged roofs and cars. I cant imagine tornadoes- although we do get the odd cylcone.

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    1. Unfortunately hail and tornadoes are pretty much par for the course around here. I've had a few close calls with tornadoes - one tore the roof off of a building a few blocks away, and CatMan actually nearly got caught in one while he was out riding his bike once - fortunately it veered off just in time. But the kind we get here are usually just the "tear the roof off of a stray house" variety, not the kind that level entire towns like they get out in the mid-west.

      One summer in high school we had softball sized hail - it was pretty remarkable. Worked out OK for me though as I got a job working for an insurance company taking hail claims. The stories I heard were rather incredible. The one that stands out was the family that had a big picture window that got shattered - then the hail just battered their living room and pounded the shards of glass into the sofa and carpet and everything.

      Anyhow, here's hoping the hail and cyclones leave you alone!

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  6. We've had a slightly off year--a mild winter, very mild "spring", and all of a sudden, we've had a hotter than normal June. Maybe you can send some of this rain our way?? And about a 20 degree temperature decrease ;)

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    1. It seems to be a feast or famine year, doesn't it? Now we're back to record breaking heat and practically no humidity. Sheesh! I would teach you my rain dance but as is probably obvious, I fear I have a long way to go before it's perfected! :-)

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  7. WOO HOO for the rain and even better than you dodging the hail storm! We are dry now and we'll stay dry for a couple more months. That's AZ though and we're used to it.

    Thanks for stopping by to tell me you enjoyed the dressing! I love hearing that. Have a blessed day!

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    1. Hope your day is wonderful too. I'm just wishing it would dump some rain on our wildfires...

      Still haven't tried the pinto & rice balls, but maybe tonite...

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  8. Our weather has been crazy as well. We had a pretty non-existent winter in an area which averages 130 inches of snow we had less than 40! Like others we've had hot summer like weather in March, May, and now June, temps that we normally only see for two weeks sometime between July and August. In April we had a little taste of winter. Seriously, even the weather forecasters can't even get it right for 24 hours any more.

    Like you I believe this could become the norm rather than the exception.

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    1. Yup... we've already got historic wildfires, and it's only June! If this weather pattern keeps up for a few more years, I'll be surprised if there are any forests left.

      Heavy sigh.

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  9. Oh Eco Cat Lady - you and I have opposite problems! In Vancouver, we are calling it June-uary. I kid you not, it's been 50 degrees and pouring rain for a month where I live in Deep Cove. And, I'm trying to sell a house here? It's like a scene from Dickens. The only word for my garden is verdant - too bad I can only admire it from my window wearing a wool sweater.

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    1. Oh my... let's trade for a few days. I just watched the news and they said it's gonna be "cool" tomorrow. "Cool" meaning a high of 80 degrees!

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